First day in Germany (and Holland)
7th August
After a very tiring ride on motorways I arrived at Loreleyblick camping at about 2pm. I lost my trip data from the GPS but it was about 260 miles, not that much in miles I suppose, but tiring roads to ride with lots of trucks moving south from Rotterdam, after being woken up at what really felt like the middle of the night but was 6.30.
I think I am at the prettier end of this long campsite by the very fast flowing Rhein. It is dominated by motor homes and caravans apart from a few intrepid cyclists with tents.
I have my new enormous tent, the Redverz Expedition tent and it’s good so far. I spent ages putting it up. There is such a huge amount of space to be untidy in.
Once sorted, I walked up the road for half a mile and found a gate leading to a footpath down to the river and it was there that I scattered mum's ashes from my hand into the river just as a barge piled high with coal sailed by, appropriate as her father was a miner.
I then walked back to the site, lay down in the tent and fell asleep as I always do. Motorcycling leads to sleep. I’ve been too tired to open a book so far.
Reviews say this campsite is noisy at night with trains running all night on both sides of the river. In fact we’ve just had stereophonic goods trains and it is loud. It’s somehow reassuring that all this stuff is getting moved around.
Later I did read the first few chapters of Where Angels Fear to Tread. One of EM Forsters early readers of this his first novel said she felt she needed to take a shower after reading it and I agree. It’s nasty not a very positive view of humans so far at least. I am sure a film has been made of it... or was that Room with a View?
I slept very well apart from being awoken by the predicted thunder of freight trains. At one point in the night I started counting the intervals between them and they were very short. I finally awoke just before seven.